Patna, Nov 22 After becoming Bihar's Home Minister, Deputy Chief Minister Samrat Choudhary has taken a tough stance on maintaining law and order in the state.
On Saturday, soon after assuming office, he issued a stern warning to criminals, declaring that no offender would be spared and that the police had been given full freedom to act.
Deputy CM Choudhary said that the police are no longer bound and now have complete authority to take action openly.
He reaffirmed that criminals have no place in Bihar and asserted that the Home Ministry will work under the guidance of Chief Minister Nitish Kumar.
Good governance, he said, existed earlier and would continue even more firmly in the future.
He added that the 'jungle raj' that had been eliminated would not be allowed to return.
Responding to a query about his earlier controversial remark -- saying that criminals in Bihar would be cremated in Gaya -- the State Home Minister said the police were doing their job.
This marks the first time Chief Minister Nitish Kumar has handed over the Home Department to the BJP since 2005.
In the new Cabinet, along with Nitish Kumar, 26 Ministers were sworn-in.
Samrat Choudhary has been appointed both the Deputy Chief Minister and Home Minister, while Vijay Kumar Sinha has also been appointed the Deputy Chief Minister of Bihar.
He is holding the charge of Revenue, Land Reforms and Mining departments in the Nitish Kumar-led Bihar government.
Ministers from all NDA constituents have found a place in the Bihar Cabinet.
The BJP has the highest representation in the state Cabinet with 14 Ministers, followed by Janata Dal-United with eight, Lok Janshakti Party-Ram Vilas with two, Hindustani Awam Morcha (HAM) with one, and Rashtriya Lok Morcha (RLM) with one.
Despite having two Deputy CMs and 14 Ministers, the BJP's share of the allocated departmental budget is lower compared to JD-U.
The BJP controls 29.22 per cent of the total budget, LJP-RV Ministers 0.91 per cent, HAM 0.58 per cent, and RLM 3.56 per cent.
The remaining departments, accounting for around 65 per cent of the total budget, remain with the JD-U.
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